the minimalist's guide to starting an online business
To start an online business, you’ve been told you need a whole heap of stuff… websites, social media accounts, mailing systems, opt-ins, fancy funnels, trip wires, expensive automated systems, lots of different offerings, a big audience, a Facebook group, not to mention all the content you’re supposed to create – blog posts, podcasts, free resources, lives, youtube videos... and on it goes. It’s enough to make your head spin!
After four years of running an online business, my biz is now humming along at it’s most minimal – I have two offerings, minimal systems, one social media platform, no podcasts, no sales funnels, no opt-ins, a teeny tiny mailing list (only 200 quality peeps) and a few blog posts every now and again… and yet, contrary to what ‘they’ will have us believe, my biz is now the most profitable (and cost and time effective) than it has ever been.
Less offerings, less systems, less content, less people, less time = less CRAZY.
Whether you’re just starting out, or a few years in, I truly believe that minimal business is the new way of doing business.
Look at it this way, your online business is like a small coffee cart company… when you try to do all these fancy systems, that’s the equivalent of trying to implement the same kinds of systems Starbucks has… you don't need it…
So in the interest of business minimalism, if you’re just starting out (or want to pair back a bit) here's what I suggest:
01 / SOCIAL MEDIA
Choose one social media platform – the one you resonate with most and start there. If you try to do all of them, you’re going to spread yourself too thin and end up getting sucked into a social media vortex (argh! who has time to be online like that? Who wants to? I don’t!).
I like Instagram so that’s where I hang. I use it to share my work, connect with peers and share the work of others, too. Having just the one platform means I can really hone my message there and it’s been a powerful place for me to create relationships with other business owners. (Really, it’s an introvert’s dream for connecting and networking!). I closed my Facebook page a year ago and do not regret it.
02 / ACCOUNTING SYSTEM
Having a simple accounting system to track your incomings and outgoings as they happen will make tax time easy. It also gives you visibility of your profits and where you might be leaking money through unnecessary expenses. Understanding where your money is coming from and where your money is going, I believe, is one of the key ingredients needed to run a minimal business.
This blog post talks about how I do this.
03 / website
In the online world, your website is the shop-front to your business. It doesn’t have to be complex, but it does need to look professional and function correctly. You need to make it easy for people to connect and engage with your business.
Start with just a few key pages – home, about, work together, blog and a contact page.
Squarespace is my recommended platform – it’s easy to learn and simple to maintain, meaning it will grow with you as your biz grows.
There are a few options available here, varying in price point and technical level:
Build it yourself – this is the most cost effective but there is a high time investment and reasonably good tech knowledge needed
Buy a DIY template – this one is a lower price point, you have a medium to high time investment to get it set up and I would say medium tech knowledge is needed.
Invest in a one week website – these sit around the medium price point, with very low time investment for you because I do all the setup for you. Low tech knowledge is also needed, because one week websites come with complete video training and support. Find out more about my one week websites here.
Invest in a custom designed website – I generally don’t recommend this option if you’re just starting out. It’s a much higher price point. However it is low time investment and, if built correctly by your designer, it should also be low tech knowledge for you.
You might like to grab a copy of my Website Creation Companion handbook to help with preparing for your website.
04 / content
On your website, get up at least five blog articles sharing your message and the useful content your audience needs. You could do this via video, audio or written.
New business owners often tell me that they don’t want to start a blog because they feel like it’s just another thing on the to do list!
But, did you know that your blog can actually save your time and help you create more space in your schedule? This article explains how.
05 / mailing system
Set up a free Mailchimp account, one list to capture subscribers with a simple welcome email that is sent when someone subscribes.
What about opt-ins and freebies? This is a marketing strategy that we are all told we need to build our mailing list and ultimately have a successful online business. But, if this kind of strategy doesn’t feel right to you, don’t feel pressured to follow it.
In this interview with Quiet Marketer Dani Garnder, Dani shares how she’s built a successful online business without opt-ins or sales funnels.
And don’t feel pressured to send emails all the time.
I don’t like my inbox being filled with emails. Do you? I treat my mailing list how I want to be treated. I send newsletters about once a month (sometimes even further apart). When I do send emails, they are very intentional and carefully considered. I try to create at least one freebie each quarter which I send out to this community, along with exclusive offers and first opportunities to work together. It’s also where I share a behind the scenes look into my business (something I don’t share anywhere else).
My open rates and clicks on my newsletters are higher than average and the people on my mailing list often write to me to tell me that my newsletter is one of the few emails that they actually open and read. I think it’s because I don’t bombard people with emails and I treat it like a special insider community.
06 / services and offerings
Too many offerings suck up a lot of time in maintenance, confuse your audience, and it never allows you to specialise in one area and / or get really good at offering that offering.
Generally with too many offerings, you have to keep reinventing the wheel rather than building on and becoming known for what you've already created.
I’ve written about the benefits I’ve experienced through having minimal offerings in this post here.
Here’s what you could focus on:
Rather than focusing all your attention on setting up all the fancy systems and offering all the things (because honestly, I think sometimes we use this as a way to hide and distract ourselves from doing the real work…), for at least the first 6-12 months, you might like to focus on:
Developing relationships – both online and in person
Creating valuable content and sharing without expectation
Listening to and doing research on what your audience need and are asking for
And remember: Sustainable results take time. No one is an overnight success (even if they tell you they are).
I share more about business minimalism in this fantastic interview: